Trade Analysis: Trader Recte And Louisville Teardown

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lordtoffee
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Trade Analysis: Trader Recte And Louisville Teardown

Post by lordtoffee » Mon Dec 21, 2020 5:45 pm

The trade deadline is slowly starting to come up, and both Las Vegas and Louisville made a move that is interesting. Before I get into the nitty gritty and offer my thoughts, it's important to remember a few caveats. First, I was not privy to any of the discussions that Shaw and Recte had in regards to this deal. Secondly, any analysis I do is based on my reading of the situation, and there is a risk that I might have missed something or that this take can age very badly.

Who Gets What:
Sluggers Get:
AAA P Ivan Ruiz

Hustlers Get:
MLB C Calvin Johnson

Sluggers Analysis:
Steven Shaw certainly caught my attention when he basically put everyone on the Sluggers roster up for trade with a couple of exceptions. The Sluggers just recently won consecutive Landis titles, and was expected to mix it up in the Frick playoff race even if they might have fallen short in the Heartland. Louisville has been hit with the dreaded cluster injuries to 3 of their pitchers, and have struggled scoring runs. I can see why this strategy makes sense. The playoff field is wide open, and there are going to be a lot of desperate teams trying to gamble on getting the extra bat or arm that could be the final piece. Also, Shaw can bargain from a position of strength especially with the knowledge that they can go out and flip some of those prospects if Shaw thinks he can go in the opposite direction. This is going to be a very interesting story to take a look at, and I can see at the very least the Sluggers having a better farm system, as they are outside the top 20 based on current rankings.

As for Ruiz, he is an interesting case. He was a 1st rounder of Nashville, and hasn't pitched much for Vegas before Recte flipped him for Johnson. Ratings wise, Ruiz has 4 plus pitches, good ratings splits in terms of handedness of hitters, good stamina, and also can hold runners on. What I would expect is for Shaw to use Ruiz in the rotation at some combination of AAA and BBA so that he can try and break through the wall that he has hit at those levels. But the one thing that I wouldn't be surprised about seeing from Shaw if Ruiz might be a potential bullpen guy. Maybe Ruiz might be better served as a middle reliever/ 7th inning guy with multiple pitches and a velocity increase as he wouldn't have to be throwing flat out. I think Ruiz can succeed at the BBA level, but would need some consistent work and maybe a change of role. If worse comes to worse, he could be flipped for someone that Shaw might like better, and Ruiz hasn't hit arby years yet.


Hustlers Analysis:
Vegas is in the hunt for the wild card in the Johnson, as the Jackrabbits have taken command of the Frontier and look like good money. We all know that Recte is a very active trader, and is very familiar with turning Vegas into a team that can compete for titles constantly in this league. In fact, as a rival GM in the playoff race, Vegas is one of those teams that I will be watching carefully. Offensively, the team has struggled to score runs, and bringing in Johnson would help to add more pop to the Hustler lineup. Johnson brings very good power ratings from both sides, is a very good defender, as well as minimal injuries that is encouraging considering that catchers tend to get beat up due to the demands of the position. In addition, Johnson still has some arby years, and wouldn't blow the cap up too much. Trading Ruiz hurts because Ruiz is a top 100 prospect, but Vegas has enough minors depth that they can still go out and add a bullpen arm and/or another bat.

Vegas also has the advantage of setting the market, and that was a big deal last year. If you remember, Brooklyn made a big trade last year during the Mad Pope fire sale, and without that move, they would have not been able to survive the late charge by the Talons. Recte clearly took advantage of the timing of Shaw trying to retool, and might have gotten a piece that could bolster him and get more time to bed in, instead of waiting until the deadline before the trade market really heats up. Especially this year, where a host of teams in both leagues are going to be going for it.
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Re: Trade Analysis: Trader Recte And Louisville Teardown

Post by recte44 » Mon Dec 21, 2020 5:59 pm

Great analysis. We had young pitching in droves and we needed a really solid young catcher. Mission accomplished.

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Re: Trade Analysis: Trader Recte And Louisville Teardown

Post by Jwalk100 » Mon Dec 21, 2020 6:18 pm

Johnson will help those young pitchers excel right out of the gate.

Great article @lordtoffee!
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Re: Trade Analysis: Trader Recte And Louisville Teardown

Post by sjshaw » Tue Dec 22, 2020 4:08 pm

Thanks for the article @lordtoffee!
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